Throughout Jim Baron's head coaching career, he has consistently
built programs from the ground up. Baron's foundation to success
includes many factors to develop student-athletes, on and off the
court; tireless work toward improving as a basketball player;
academic diligence; and physical, mental, and emotional growth.
Baron believes those three principles will ultimately lead to
success over the student-athletes' career at the University of
Rhode Island. Over the last five seasons, the Rams have won 109
games - the most victories in program history in a five-year time
span. The success on the court has seen URI average over 22 wins a
season, including three trips to the National Invitation Tournament
and a spot in the finals of the 2007 Atlantic 10 Championship. This
past season, the Runnin' Rams reached the 20-win mark for the
fourth consecutive season, advancing to the second round of the
College Basketball Invitational. Delroy James (second team
All-Atlantic 10) and Marquis Jones (Atlantic 10 All-Defensive team)
wrapped up their careers, along with classmates Will Martell and
Ben Eaves, as the winningest players in Rhody basketball history.
During the 2009-10 campaign, URI won 26 games - second-most in
program history - and advanced to Madison Square Garden for the
semifinals of the 2010 National Invitation Tournament (NIT). Led by
All-Atlantic 10 third team selections Keith Cothran and Delroy
James, the Rams improved on their win total for the fifth
consecutive year. Additionally, through Baron's guidance, the
Runnin' Rams have made a return to the Ryan Center hardwood. Rhode
Island ranked 10th nationally in points per game during the 2008-09
season, pouring in 79.3 points per game. Over the last three
seasons, URI ranked among the highest scoring teams in the nation,
averaging just under 80.0 points per game. During the 2008-09
season, Rhody compiled a 23-11 record, advancing to the second
round of the National Invitation Tournament. Picked to finish ninth
according to the conference coaches preseason poll, URI posted an
11-5 mark in Atlantic 10 play - good for the second seed in the
A-10 Championship. For his efforts, Baron earned his fourth career
A-10 Coach of the Year honor. He previously earned top A-10
coaching honors at St. Bonaventure in 1995 and three times at URI -
in 2003, 2007, and 2009. Only Hall of Famer John Chaney of Temple
has earned more A-10 Coach of the Year awards, with five (1984,
1985, 1987, 1988, 2000). In June 2009, Baron was also honored by
his alma mater - St. Bonaventure - by being inducted into its
Athletics Hall of Fame as a standout student-athlete and coach.
Baron's coaching has also yielded high accolades for his players.
During the 2008-09 season, Jimmy Baron was named a First Team
Lowe's Senior CLASS Award All-American selection, while also
earning First Team All-Atlantic 10 honors. Off the court, he became
just the second player in URI history to be named an Academic
All-American. Additionally, Kahiem Seawright earned Third Team
All-A-10 honors, while Delroy James was named the Atlantic 10's
Sixth Man of the Year. Two players - Will Daniels and Parfait Bitee
- were honored by the Atlantic 10 Conference at the conclusion of
the 2007-08 season for their outstanding play. Daniels earned a
spot on the watch list for two prestigious national awards: the
Naismith and the Lowe's Senior CLASS awards. He was named to the
2007-08 All-Atlantic 10 First Team - the first URI player since
1997-98 (Tyson Wheeler) and just the third in program history
(Carlton "Silk" Owens) to earn consecutive spots on the all-league
first team roster. Bitee was one of five players honored as part of
the 2007-08 Atlantic 10 All-Defensive squad. During the 2007-08
campaign, Baron reached two major coaching milestones. On Nov. 28,
2007 he won his 300th career game as a head coach, when the Rams
took a 92-72 victory over Northeastern at the Ryan Center. Later in
the season, Baron became the fourth coach in University of Rhode
Island history to reach the triple-digit mark in victories,
garnering win #100 in the game against Georgia Southern on Dec. 29,
2007. From Dec. 24, 2007-Jan. 21, 2008 - Baron guided the Rams to
the program's first national rankings in close to a decade. URI
reached as high as #22 on the Associated Press poll and #20 on the
ESPN/USA Today Coaches' poll. It was the first time Rhode Island
spent four consecutive weeks in the national rankings since the
1997-98 season. Baron also guided the 2007-08 Rams to the best
start in the program's 101-year history, racing out to a 14-1 mark
through the first 15 games. The squad was also the fastest in URI
history to reach the 20-win mark, with its win at Fordham on Feb.
10, 2008. It was the third 20-win season for Baron while at the
helm of the Rams. Over the last eight years, 26 of his
student-athletes have earned their degrees, including all four
seniors in the class of 2011. To Baron, success includes winning on
the court in March and on graduation day in May. Academics are such
a strong focal point for Baron that all student-athletes receive a
booklet that clearly defines what is expected of them off the
court. Comprising six rules, 10 goals, and 16 expectations ranging
from academics and appearance to character and conditioning, it is
an owner's manual for winners. Such attention to detail brings
discipline and order to the program. He has restored a high level
of respectability on the court as well. When Baron came to Kingston
in 2001, Baron inherited a team coming off a dismal 12-48 stretch.
It was a program in disarray, but it did not take long for Baron to
find the winning touch. After struggling to an 8-20 mark in his
first season, Rhode Island went 20-11 in 2002-03, advancing to the
second round of the NIT. The quick and impressive turnaround earned
Baron Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year honors in just his second
season in Kingston. Baron's success carried over to the 2003-04
season, as the Rams posted a 20-14 mark and again advanced to the
second round of the NIT. Included in the stretch run was a visit
from Dick Vitale and the ESPN college basketball crew, who traveled
to Kingston for a nationally televised game between the Rams and
then-undefeated and #2 ranked Saint Joseph's. The 2004-05 team
played to a 14-14 overall record, including an 8-8 mark in Atlantic
10 play - good for seventh in the conference. The record includes a
win over in-state rivals Providence and Brown, while also stringing
together a five-game win streak in A-10 play in January, despite
losing preseason first-team All-Atlantic 10 Dawan Robinson along
with projected starter Jamaal Wise prior to the start of the
season. In all, players missed nearly 100 games due to injury.
Baron's 2006-07 team was picked to finish 11th according to the
Atlantic 10 Preseason Coaches Poll. But the team defied the
predictions, spending most of the season atop the A-10 standings.
URI entered the 2007 conference championship with the #4 seed and
advanced all the way to the championship game on ESPN before losing
to George Washington. Will Daniels earned a spot on the
All-Atlantic 10 First Team, while Jimmy Baron was an honorable
mention selection. For his efforts, Baron earned his third career
A-10 Coach of the Year award. Baron's success in Kingston follows a
similar pattern throughout his 22-year head coaching career. When
the former Bonnies standout returned to lead St. Bonaventure in
1992, the program was far from its glory days. Baron rebuilt the
program and was rewarded with top coaching honors. In the three
years prior to Baron's arrival, the Bonnies had gone 22-60 (.262).
In his third season at St. Bonaventure (1994-95), Baron guided the
team to an 18-13 mark and a trip to the NIT. For his efforts, Baron
earned his first Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year award. And in his
final two seasons, Baron led the Bonnies to a 39-21 mark, including
the school's first NCAA bid in 22 years. His 1999-2000 team went
21-10, reached the Atlantic 10 tournament final for only the second
time in school history and became a Cinderella story in the NCAA
tournament. In a memorable first-round game, the Bonnies battled
heavily favored Kentucky into double overtime before falling,
85-80. Besides earning three trips to the postseason (1 NCAA bid, 2
NIT) and posting a 132-131 mark. Baron graduated 95 percent of his
players at St. Bonaventure. At St. Francis (Pa.), it was 100
percent. At St. Francis (Pa.), Baron took over a program that has
posted six consecutive losing seasons and were a long way from the
days of the late great Maurice Stokes. By 1990-91, Baron led the
Red Flash to the NCAA Tournament, the the only NCAA Tournament
appearance in school history. As a student-athlete, Baron was a
standout guard at St. Bonaventure from 1973-77. The Bonnies went
73-28 over his four years, capped by a 24-6 record and the NIT
championship in 1976-77. Co-captain as a senior, he led the club in
assists, made the dean's list, and won the coveted title Ideal St.
Bonaventure Student, the highest honor bestowed by the university.
He graduated in 1977 with a bachelor's degree in physical education
and added a master's degree in counseling in 1988. Baron began his
coaching career at the high school level at Aquinas in Rochester.
The coaching trail also took him to stops at Rochester, Loyola
(Md.), St. Bonaventure and Notre Dame to fill in the pieces of his
coaching resume before he landed his first collegiate head coaching
job at St. Francis. On the international level, Baron coached the
Panamanian national team to a 37-13 record in five seasons. The
squad competed in the 1982 World Cup, the 1983 Latin American
championships, the 1987 Pan American Games and the 1992
Pre-Olympics. Off the court, Baron has always found time for
community activities. For the last 18 years, he has helped run the
basketball clinics for Special Olympians held at each Final Four.
Baron has also spent summers at the Green Valley Youth Camp for
troubled youth in upstate New York. Since coming to Rhode Island,
Baron has raised money for the families of New York City
firefighters killed on September 11, 2001 and the families of those
who lost their lives in the tragic Station nightclub fire in
Warwick, R.I. in 2003. He has taken an active role in the annual
Coaches vs. Cancer fundraising drive. He has spoken to civic
groups, hosted his TV and radio shows, run a summer basketball
camp, and continued to serve on the international committee of the
National Association of Basketball Coaches. Baron and his wife
Cindy, an accomplished painter whose watercolors have been
exhibited throughout the country, have two sons, Jimmy - a standout
guard who graduated from Rhode Island in 2009 - and Billy, a
sophomore guard at Rhode Island.